 Theology on Tap will be taking a break until March 2020. Please check here occasionally for information about the next selection for the group's consideration.  The Deacon calls the People to prayer saying
A sign has been given to us. A child shall be born for us and wrapped in bands of cloth and laid in a manger. Let us gather in one spirit as we pray to you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. Intercessor: Caring for another person means kindness in touch, and tenderness in words, to surrender our own needs and wants as we attend to the other. And when we’re holding and caring for another, we can’t do much else. And when you tend to a little child, you have to put it all down in order to pick up the baby. Gracious God, we’re busy, we tired, we’re full of pressure, and worries, and yet you call us, like Mary and Joseph, to kneel down and pick up the baby, and so, we pray you, O lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. Intercessor: Even if you’re a toddler yourself; even if you’re a preteen; even if you’re 95; even if you’ve never remembered ever holding a baby; even if you know nothing about birthin’ babies; you’ll still have some idea as your gaze on something so helpless, that first things are first, and when something is fighting for its life, you’ve got to stop what you are doing and so, we pray you, O lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. Intercessor: Even if we can’t, or won’t or will never want to have a baby, we sometimes need to know that Jesus is the only thing we need to hold on to. Even when we don’t know what else to do, we pray you, O lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. Even when there is nothing else we can do, we pray to you O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. It’s just true. When you’re holding a baby, there’s not much else you can do . . . except just hold it, and love it, and pray. And honestly, the baby can’t do all that much either, we pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. The two of you just sort of . . . melt into one another. You just sort of . . . exist . . . together. we pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. I don’t know what it is you came to church for here today, Why you’re here or how easy or hard it was to come here, we pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. Whether you know it or not, you have come here for one thing, and one thing only. You have come here to hold the Baby. we pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. Whether you know it or not he is the One who has brought you here and really, there is nothing else you can do. You just hold him. And love him, And pray. We pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. But be forewarned, for this comes at great cost. To hold this Baby— this Jesus whom we proclaim - means you are going to have to put some things down. We pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. When you hold this Baby, nothing else matters. Everything else falls away. We pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. When you hold this Baby, the war makers must put down their weapons and all their garments rolled in blood. The oppressors must put down their rods. The emperors must put down their censuses. The shepherds must put down their staffs. We pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. The judges must put down their gavels. The bankers their pencils. The farmers their plows. The nurses their stethoscopes The journalists their laptops. The teachers their books. The janitors their brooms. The interns their clipboards. The internet trolls their keyboards. The leaders their egos. Priests and Bishops their collars We pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. When you and I hold this Baby— when we hold this Jesus— everything else must fall away: our cell phones, our distractions, our ambitions, our rights, our wrongs, our hurts, our grievances . . . our power. We pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. “Whatever that is you’re doin,’ you gotta put it down and come hold this baby.” But here’s the final twist. Here’s the insane grace of it all. For all that you and I have to lay aside— for all the power that we have to let go in order to hold this Baby— the thing is he has already gone first. Yeah, you have to give up a lot in order to hold a baby, but think of how much more you have to give up in order to BE the baby. We pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. He could have come any way he wanted. As a mighty warrior. As a fearsome beast. As a rich king with swagger, and prestige, and power. But instead, this Baby— this Jesus— came like this. We pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. Whatever it was he was doing, he put it down all those years ago so he could come and rest right there next to your beating heart. We pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. So, my friends, what is it? What is it that you get to lay aside, even if just for this one moment? The Creator of your soul has put down everything he had, because all he ever really wanted . . . was just to be with you. We pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. So whatever that is you’re doing, put it down. Come on. Hold the baby. There’s nothing else you can do. You just hold him. And love him. And pray. We pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. And when you do, when put everything down, and hold and love and pray and melt together, You get to become the Christ to others. Let us find the Christ Child in all God’s children who have no one to hold them, Let us hand over the wounds of loneliness and desperation within our own hearts we hide from others and even ourselves, Let us allow ourselves to be held who have the memory of wrong etched on our bodies and in our minds. Let us find the Christ Child in this planet in crisis and reach out, and hold, love, and pray. We pray you, O Lord, People Help us put it all down and pick up the baby. Adapted from a sermon of Lonnie Lacy+ by Philip Car-Jones+ The who, what, why, where, when, and how of Prayer "Pray without ceasing" - Thessalonians 5:17 Throughout the Sundays in January and February, sermon offerings will be directed toward the development and practice of our community’s understanding of prayer. Though the teachings and reflections do not require attendance at any previous offering and each will provide its own stand alone content, we do hope a fuller embrace of your own prayer life will be accomplished if you catch the whole series. Here are some sample thoughts to consider in preparation.  
You can do this!  Father Phil mentioned in church on Sunday that the prayer shawl knitters are taking a break to knit and crochet soap sacks for the folks in detention camps. When there is more specific information about the project, it will get posted, but meanwhile, you can do this! Even Father Phil can crochet these because they are small and quick. Download the pattern of your choice, knit or crochet, below and get started with cotton yarn.
 Our next book will be "Educated," by Tara Westover. This memoir details her childhood in the mountains of Idaho. Her survivalist-minded parents did not consider a "traditional" education to be valuable; yet, after one of her siblings entered college, she also decided to pursue a education as well. Her quest took her to Harvard and, ultimately, Cambridge. This has been a bestseller since its publication in February 2018. Meeting date tbd.
We Three Kings - Area House Blessings and Parties  We are again blessing all homes, and not just the day of Epiphany - January 6th, but throughout
the Season of Epiphany - over the eight weeks of January & February. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, we will bless several homes from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm and then gather at the last one on that night for a conversation from 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm. Whole families with children are welcome to attend. Light refreshments will be served. It’s a chance for the priest of parish to a) share plans and dreams for our community in the coming months, b) present a financial health statement and offer an opportunity to support the mission of the community, and, c) have open time for questions and conversation. You will receive an invitation to participate which includes a notice of the scheduled date for your home’s blessing. It will be sent to you right after Christmas. The youth of the parish have made a special gift for each home this year and a packet of information about key dates and programs will be presented to each home during the blessings. We can reschedule anyone to a different date should the assigned evening not be suitable. (Just send us a note support@churchholyspirit.net!) The Quirinius Project  It’s time for a census — the “Quirinius” Census.
** No, not the 2020 nation-wide census. Our own Church of the Holy Spirit census. To record all who are a part of CHS and to give our parish leadership more information about how to develop programs to reach as many as possible. To make it easy for newcomers to identify themselves. SO: we’ve developed an online Community Sign-up. Introduction: Help us include you in our common life! This form is to help us get to know you better and to welcome you and your family into the community of Church of the Holy Spirit. We want to be sure you feel included in our common mission across the seasons of the Church Year, so accurate records are vital in keeping our communications meaningful and efficient. Since each of us is a unique individual, beloved of God, you are asked to have a separate entry for each member of your family. All information provided will be used only by Church of the Holy Spirit, not published, and never provided to anyone else. The deadline to gather this information is October 15, 2019, so please go to the website and enter your information as soon as possible. If there are other members of your family who are part of CHS, even if they are not living at home, please encourage them to do the same. We ask the parents of small children to complete the sign-up for them. We want all included! Here’s how to do it: Go to the Church of the Holy Spirit website on your computer, tablet or smartphone https:// www.churchholyspirit.org Click on “About Us”, then “Who We Are”, then “Community Sign-up”. (Or go directly to https://www.churchholyspirit.org/community-sign-up.html ) Enter your information. Please respond to all the items. Click “Submit”. You’re done! Start over with other family members who are too young to do it themselves. **FUN FACT: Fr. Philip like to call this the Quirinius census, from the passage in St. Luke’s gospel “In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.” In his Report to the Congregation on Growth and Discipleship, Fr. Philip
Recklessly fostering heartfelt connection Remembering to fully listen with compassion Serving generously and being courageously inclusive Sharing faith creatively, telling our story Worshiping boldly, joyfully and with purpose
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